“The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. It’s hard to let your children go to preschool or kindergarten. This book has a Mama Raccoon who kisses her child’s palm before she leaves him at school. If he misses her he can place his palm with the kiss on his cheek, and he will know his mother loves him. Baby Raccoon also kisses his mother’s palm before he heads off to school. Real love endures even when we’re away from our loved ones. Sweet story. Beautiful artwork.” ― Donna Worthington Shiro
2018 has been a great year for children’s books, with familiar authors and newcomers alike exploring topics and themes with style, wit, and sensibility that resonate far longer after the last page is reached. Below are our favorite children’s books of the year so far; aimed at kids from 2-7 years old. These are books that made us and our kids laugh, think, dream, wonder, feel calm, and forget about the real world for a time. Take a look.
“The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson. A really intricate story about travel, and family, and beauty, and awe, and carving your own path, and how even small things and people can make a big impact on the world and those they love, but it’s so accessible to even small kids, and so beautifully written. Sometimes I read it just for myself.” ― Meghan Hart Arbuckle
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Grandfather only speaks Thai. Grandson only speaks English. After some trying and failing to communicate through language (the grandfather’s words are shown in Thai characters; the boys in English) the two realize they can connect through art. The boy draws his version of a wizard; grandpa draws his version of a wizard. From there, the story morphs in a language-barrier art battle of sorts except the two build a bridge and create a new world that’s beyond, well, words. It’s a great story, one that’s made all the more engaging by Santat’s illustrations.

When you purchase the Geno 2.0 Next Gen Helix Product, you will receive a saliva collection kit from our partner Helix. When you return your saliva sample to Helix, Helix will sequence your DNA. That sequence is your “Genetic Information.” Helix will share with National Geographic the portion of your Genetic Information needed by National Geographic to provide you with your deep ancestry insights (we’re calling this your “Genographic Genetic Information”). We will use this Genographic Genetic Information to produce your Geno 2.0 Next Gen Helix Product results.

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Of course, inquisitive toddlers not only enjoy hearing stories but also want to read them. To make learning to read is fun from the start, choose personalized preschool books to help your child start on the right page. Some books teach the basics like numbers and counting, while others teach the alphabet. Personalization and fun characters make reading these books a delight for preschoolers.
The best children’s books not only help young readers understand themselves and the world better, but make them giggle, think, worry, consider, and engage all their other feelings, too. These books also tug adult readers back towards childhood, reminding us of our youth and bigger things beyond our own lives. This is no easy trick, but it feels natural when a great book pulls it off with grace. And so far, there have been dozens of releases this year that do just that.
Hachette Book Group is proud to publish James Patterson, Lemony Snicket, Malala Yousafzai, Chris Colfer, Neil Patrick Harris, Grace Lin, Todd Parr, Peter Brown, and many more bestselling authors and rising literary stars. Our engaging, unforgettable children’s books have the power to inspire a love of reading that will stick with kids for a lifetime.